Child health

Speech and language therapy helps children and young people to reach their full speech, language and communication potential. 

Who do we work with?

The speech and language therapy team work with babies, children and young people who have difficulties with:

• Speech
• Language
• Feeding and swallowing

Where do we work?

Speech and language therapists and assistants in Coventry work in these locations:

• Nurseries
• Mainstream schools
• Specialist units attached to mainstream schools
• Special schools
• Homes
• Specialist early years provisions
• Specialist care provisions
• City of Coventry Health Centre

How can I access the service?

If your child is registered with a Coventry GP they can be referred to our service. Anybody can make a referral on behalf of a child including parents/carers, teachers, other health professionals, consultants, GP’s and health visitors. Professionals referring on behalf of a parent must obtain the parent/carer’s signature, before the form is sent to us. A referral without parent / carer signature will not be accepted.

For most children, activities to support communication must be carried out before a referral is made to the service. The referrer will be asked to provide details of this support when filling out the referral form. If this information is not provided, the referral will be returned. Look at the referral form for more information about this.

Preschool assessments

The current wait for a communication assessment is up to 20 weeks

School age assessments

The current wait for a communication assessment is up to 20 weeks

How do we work?

All children and young people accepted to the service will be offered an assessment with a speech and language therapist. These will usually take place at City of Coventry Health Centre. Most appointments last up to 1 hour. Pay and display parking is available on site. We are approximately 5 minutes walk from Coventry city bus station.

The children’s speech and language therapy service is located within Child and family services on the fourth floor of the City of Coventry Health Centre. Lifts are available.

Following assessment, advice will be given and children will receive further support dependent on their speech, language or communication needs (SLCN), the impact this has on them, the support available and the potential for us to make a difference.

This means that some children with SLCN will receive advice from the speech therapist rather than further support. To get the most out of intervention we work together with:

• Child
• Family
• Education
• Other important people around the child

When further support is offered we will:

• Decide what your child needs to work on first. Most children do better if we pick 2 or 3 things at a time.
• Help your child to do the work
• Advise you on how to work with your child
• Ask other people to help your child by carrying out the activities we recommend e.g. school, nursery.
• Provide training to you and other professionals.
• Refer your child to other professionals if needed, with your consent. 

We will discharge your child if:

• After the first assessment if they do not meet the criteria for further support
• If your child makes progress and there are no longer concerns or they no longer meet the criteria
• If you don’t come to an appointment and don’t let us know, you will be sent a letter asking you to ring us within 2 weeks. If we do not hear back from you, your child will be discharged
• If you are unable to support your child with the activities provided, they may be discharged. If they need further support in the future, they will need to be referred again
• Once your child has been discharged, they will need to be referred again if you feel they require further input